The invention relates to a connection of at least one electrical junction to a conductor track applied to a board, especially a glass plate or glass ceramic plate.
In DE 40 22 845 C2 it is described that metal coatings which are applied to a glass ceramic plate by the screen printing method can be connected to electrical contacts by soldering or cementing. It has been recognized that soldering or cementing does not result in a lasting, tight, electrically conductive connection.
In DE 197 07 664 A1 a conductor track is described, which is applied to a glass ceramic plate. Since the contacting points on the glass ceramic plate serving as a cooking burner are complicated to create, mechanical contacting by contact pins was proposed.
In WO 88/05 428 A1 it is disclosed that an electronic component (chip) with a conductor board can be connected by pieces of wire by ultrasonic welding.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,368 and DE 40 22 845 C2, temperature sensors on a glass ceramic cooking burner are described. Conductor tracks are applied to the glass ceramic plate. The formation of the junctions is not dealt with.
In DE 197 11 541 A1 it is found that a metal foil can be cemented to the pebbled bottom of a glass ceramic hot plate.
In DE 692 04 564 T2 there is described a method for the non-electrical metallization of a pattern of material other than glass on a glass support. The metallization is said to be suitable for the application of connections for other elements, including the method of ultrasonic welding.
The invention is addressed to the problem of proposing a connection of the kind referred to in the beginning, which is corrosion-proof, resistant to temperature change, resistant to pulling, and electrically conductive.
The above problem is solved by the claimed features.
In the ultrasonic welding of the connecting element to the composite consisting of conductor track and plate, the connecting element is fastened not just superficially to the conductor track, as in the case of soldering or cementing. Instead, in the ultrasonic welding a seam is formed which extends through the very thin conductor track and includes the latter. In addition to the composite created by the application of the conductor track to the plate, there is an additional binding force between the conductor track and the plate. Therefore, all three participants in the composite, namely the plate, the conductor track and the connecting element are combined in one unit. It follows that the connecting element is locked to the composite between the plate and conductor track, and especially the plate as the stable supporting element, in a manner resistant to traction and temperature change. In spite of the considerably different thermal expansion coefficients of the plate and conductor track, no loosening of the bond is thus to be feared.
Between the connecting element and the conductor track, the ultrasonic welding process necessarily produces a high electrical conductivity. The ultrasonic bond is also substantially more resistant to corrosion than a solder or cement bond.
In contrast to a soldered junction, ultrasonic welding also prevents the plate, especially the glass ceramic plate, from being exposed to great thermal point stress which might impair its long-term strength.
The plate has a nubby surface and the conductor track or tracks are applied to the nubby surface. To improve the structure and the reliable bond, the connecting element is ultrasonically welded to the composite conductor track and plate in a valley between the nubs.
The connecting element, Which is, for example, a wire (bond wire) of an AlSi material, extends to the junction fastened to the plate and is electrically connected and mechanically bonded to the junction, which can be accomplished by soldering or, again, by ultrasonic welding.
Preferably, the junction is on a terminal contactxe2x80x94as is commonly the case in electronic constructionxe2x80x94and the terminal contact is fastened on the plate, especially by cementing. An electrical cable, for example, runs from the junction to an electronic circuit whose sensor forms the conductor track or tracks.
The conductor track whose thickness is substantially less than that of the plate, and amounts for example to about 100 nm, is preferably applied to the plate by a screen printing method, a sputtering process or by a vapor depositing method.
To protect the connecting element, and especially protect it against corrosion, it is embedded in a protective mass which extends from the junction to beyond the location of the ultrasonic weld. The protective mass is, for example, a thermosetting epoxide, and is selected to provide good adhesion to the combined plate and conductor track.
The bond that has been described can be used, for example, on a glass ceramic plate of a cooking burner, sensor areas forming the conductor tracks and the junctions being connected to an electronic sensing system. The bond described can also be used on glass plates which form the viewing windows of a fireplace, for example an open fireplace, or a bake oven.
The bond described can also be used in operator shielding of glass containing controls or in windows of refrigeration and freezing equipment which are heated to prevent condensation.
Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are to be found in the subordinate claims and in the following description of one embodiment.